BUSINESS secretary Sajid Javid has said Bournemouth’s economy has experienced a “jobs boom” and praised its thriving film-making scene.

The cabinet minister for business, innovation and skills also insisted the government had made the right decision on the Navitus Bay wind farm.

"In Bournemouth we've had a jobs boom. We have, in the last five years, seen more jobs created than the rest of the European Union put together,” he told the Daily Echo.

“In Bournemouth we've seen a huge fall in unemployment and we've seen a corresponding rise in the tourism sector and the financial services sector. We've seen a huge amount of investment coming in to Bournemouth and that's happened because of the confidence in the economy.”

He praised the work of Bournemouth University and its animation students, many of whom have worked on major Hollywood films.

“Not many people in the country perhaps know that Bournemouth University is had a really big impact on film making, especially the special effects sector,” he said.

"Bournemouth is on the rise," he added.

Mr Javid, the 45-year-old MP for Bromsgrove, has been tipped as a possible future Conservative leader. He was at Bournemouth's Highcliff Marriott hotel to address the Sixty Six Club of business people, which raises funds for the party in Bournemouth West.

He defended the government’s decision to require businesses to pay a new National Living Wage, which will reach £9 an hour by 2020, at the same time as cutting tax credits.

He acknowledged businesses were raising concerns about the issue. "It's definitely something that would come up, more so with certain sectors – retailing for example or people in social care,” he said.

“That's perfectly understandable but what businesses also understand is that you can't have an economy where you have high welfare and low wages.

“We've got to start moving gradually towards higher wages and lower welfare. That's in everyone's interests and I think having a system where we're able to make that progress and that's what announced in the last budget is the right outcome.”

Ahead of George Osborne’s autumn statement, in which he is expected to mitigate the effects of the tax credit cuts, Mr Javid insisted: "It's hugely important to make sure it's a system that rewards people who choose to work."

A referendum on European Union membership is due by 2017 and Mr Javid – who has suggested the costs of staying in the EU currently outweigh the benefit – said businesses across the spectrum wanted reform.

“They want to see reform along the lines of what the prime minister has very recently set out. They want to see an EU more competitive, more pro-business, more pro-growth,” he said.

"The only reason we as a country are having a negotiation is because the prime minister has been bold enough to lead a reform.

“Without the prime minister we wouldn't have any chance to get reform. When the process ends, we will have certainty. Businesses do like to have more certainty rather than less but we are bringing certainty by having this debate, getting reform and letting the British people decide."

Mr Javid, who recalled Bournemouth from visits to Conservative party conferences, could not say whether the party would bring its annual autumn gathering back to the town. It last visited in 2006.

"It's above my pay grade to make these decisions,” he said.